It was one of the great ads of the 2024 edition of the Choos Summit in France in Versailles: an investment of 1.3 billion euros to build a low carbon fertilizer factory, north of Amiens, in Somme. The objective is that this site produces 500,000 tons of fertilizers per year, or about 10% of the consumption of the French agricultural sector.
A great step, while France depends largely on imports, in particular Russians, for their fertilizers. According to figures from the European Commission, France has imported just over 735,000 tons of Russian mineral fertilizers last year. Three times more than in 2020.
A “PAN -Europeo” consortium, called Fertight, leads this project to move to the production of green fertilizers, with several “founding investors”: EIT INNOVANERGY, RIC Energy, Mayor, Siemens Financial Services, Invivo and Heineken. After this first factory in France, Fertight wants to double the model in other parts of Europe.
A “affordable” fertilizer for farmers
In May 2024, in the alleys of election of France, the Government had called the project. A year later, with other investors, the Invive French cooperative giant (11.7 billion euros worldwide) is in the starting blocks. Its general manager, Thierry Blandinières, hopes that the Somme factory will be operational in 2032. He believes it is “a direct response to the challenges of food sovereignty.” He plans to sell this fertilizer to farmers through their member cooperatives and impose it on the specifications of their own activities.
“The theme is the price,” explains Thierry Blandinières. This French fertilizer must be competitive.
To do this, the members of the Consortium have brought capital, but they also expect an impulse from the government, in the form of help, such as those that have been assigned to the organic sector, to develop it. “The discussions are underway with the Minister of Agriculture and Sovereignty of Food,” said one of the investors. They also negotiate with EDF, the price of electricity and gas to manage the factory is obviously decisive.
Source: BFM TV
